Another 'drop in meeting' was held last Wednesday evening by the Roads and Maritime Services (RMS) to inform Braidwood residents of progress so far in planning for the ultimate removal and replacement of our beautiful avenues of trees at Braidwood's Eastern and Northern approaches.
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Well sorry RMS, but I for one fail to be convinced that you are on the right track. I will limit my comments to the northern section as it has the most problems and seems to have the easiest solutions. I gave two written pages of feedback to the meeting along these lines.
The RMS plans to propagate from existing Golden Poplars, and then plant these trees out of the road reservation, in private land on the east side, and in the show ground and racecourse, and the west side. Once these replanted trees reach five metres in height the existing trees will be removed. Problem solved! No car can hit a tree if it is located in a paddock 20 odd metres from a road!
At the focus meetings the Braidwood people asked for, almost to the person, a reduced speed limit from Deloraine Lane to the town limits as well as a wire rope fence to redirect any car which should stray in the region of the tree/s. Replanting in the outer sections of the existing road corridor will still preserve the "Avenue Effect" which the Braidwood town folk and visitors love. To plant any wider than this eg. in private land and show ground and racecourse, will cause the complete loss of the existing ‘Avenue Effect’.
The RMS seem very reluctant to reduce the speed limit as the road is a highway, and also to spend any money on the most sensible option, which is a wire rope fence which I, and I might add many others, raised at the first meeting. Why can't they listen to the people? The existing speed limit past the Showground and Racecourse is a danger in itself, considering the amount of traffic, including larger vehicles, which have to negotiate entering these premises, in the existing speed limit of 100km. If the speed limit was reduced to 80km as the people are asking, the trees are at the required distance from the road. Is this the reason the RMS do not want the speed limit changed?
Dennis Dempsey
Braidwood